Sheet-turner



G.B.SEMLEY.

SHEET TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED- MAY 1'8, 1920.

- ramme 00. 11, 1921.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. SEMLEY, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN.

SHEET-TURNER.

Be it known that GEORGE B. SEiuLEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and

resident of Kenosha, in the county of Kenosha, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Turners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descri tion thereof.

y invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for turning sheets, for instance the leaves of a music book or sheet music.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a simply constructed'and readily operated leaf turner which can be used in connection with various kinds'of musical instruments and music stands. 1

An additional object of the invention is to provide a device of this character whichcan be easily actuated by'one foot of the player, thus permitting him to perform without interruption.

lVith these general objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction. combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents an end view of a piano having my improved sheet turner mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail end view, partly in section, of the device.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail side elevational view, partly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 2/

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken substantially on the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a substantially horizontal section on the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, and especially in Fig. 1, the invention can be mounted upon a piano P, in which instance a portion of the actuating mechanism extends behind and beneath the instrument as shown. To use the principles of the invention in connection with music stands and the like, it would obviously be necessary to notify the illustrated embodiment to a certain extent. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to make such changes in the form and proportions of the different parts as to accommodate the device for use where necessary or desirable.

The music rest R of the piano on which the music M stands has a plurality of turn- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 382,427.

ing arms 1 depending in front thereof from a suitable bracket plate 2, this plate being carried by a stationary head block 3. The head block 3 is secured upon the top of the piano P by means of a foot 4, and one side thereof has a longitudinally and substantially horizontally extending key-seat 5. A-

slidable head block or carriage 6 having a dovetail 7 disposed in said keyway 5 is mov-v able laterally on the stationary head block.

Each of'the turning arms 1 is provided intermediate its ends with a pivot ear 8 by which the same may bej'fulcrumed to the bracket plate 2. One of the ends of each arm 1, that is to say the upper end thereof when the same are 1n verticalinactive position, is enlarged as at 9 to provide a counter balance, whereby when the arm is moved to one side of a vertical line, it will .be shifted to. a substantially horizontal osition by the action of gravity. A portion of each bearing in which the pivot ears 8 are mounted has a shoulder 10 against which the arms abut when in vertical inactive position, a second shoulder 11 being provided. to limit the downward swinging movement of the counter-balanced portions and to retain the arms substantially horizontal when in active position.

In so far as the present invention is con1 cerned, the number of turning arms 1 which are pivoted on the bracket plate 2 is immaterial, but for each of said arms a latch bar 12 is provided, these latch bars being pivoted substantially midway their ends upon a pivot rod 13 carried by the stationary head block 3. The portions of the blocks 12 to one side 0f the pivot engage the undersurface of saic 1 .head block 3 and when the carriage 6 is in its outermost position with its outer end flush with the similar end of.

thestationary head block 3, the portions of said latch bars 12 on the opposite side of the fulcrums thereof engage the undersurface of said carriage. It will be seen, however that as'the carriage 6 is moved rearwardly, the latch bars 12 will be successively freed from engagement with the former. The counter-balanced ends 9 of the arms 1 are preferably curved or arcuate as at 14, and when said arms are in locked vertical position, each of these curved parts is disposed in an arcuate groove 15 in the latch bars 12.

Inasmuch as the turning arms will remain in vertical position regardless of the conntar-balanced ends 9 unless initially urged toward a horizontal position, provision is made for imparting a starting motion to each of the turning arms as it is necessary to bring them into play for turning the music leaves L. For this purpose each of the latch bars 12 has a longitudinally extending release finger 16 normally slidably disposed in a guide groove 17 in the carriage 6. The forward end of the carriage adjacent this groove 17 has a turned up trip finger 18 which, as it is successively brought into contact with the release fingers 16, forcibly, urges the same upwardly. In other words, the latch bar. 12 which carries this finger is kicked into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 with the result that the turning arm 1 located in engagement therewith is given an initial motion toward a horizontal position. The weight of the counterbalance 9 thereof continues the movement of the arm 1 until it strikes the stop 11. Leaf springs 19 are carried by the bracket plate 2 and one is located inposition to be engaged behind each .turning arm 1 when in vertical position. When the turning arms 1 are locked by the latch bars 12, these springs 19 are compressed so that they will exert their tension to aid the movement of the latch bars in urging the turning arms toward said horizontal position.

The carriage 6 is moved rea-rWardly to successively actuate the latch bars and to release the turning arms by means of a pawl and ratchet 20 and 21 respectively, the latter being formed on the rear end of a connecting rod 22 with which the carriage 6 is pivotally connected. The pawl on the other hand is carried by a bell-crank 24 fulcrumed on a bracket 25 secured to the rear of the piano I. One of the arms of'the bell-crank 2 1 has a link 26 connecting the same with one end of a lever 27 extending beneath the piano P. The forward end of this lever is provided with a foot pedal 28 so that upon each downward movement-of the forward end of the lever 27, the link 26 will be moved upwardly and the bell-crank 24 rocked. Return springs 29 move the link 26 and the parts carried thereby to normal inactive position.

In using the invention the music M is placed on the rest R and the turning arms 1' are disposed between the leaves L thereof, said turning arms being then located in their inactive vertical positions with their upper ends locked by the latch bars 12. Likewise 1. In a mechanism of the class described,

a normally inactive turning arm pivoted intermediate its ends, a weight on one ofsaid ends, a pivoted latch bar having a groove receiving a portion of the arm to re- -tain the same in inactive position, and means for rocking the latch bar to release the arm and to move the same toward an'active position, the weight completing the movement of the arm from its inactive to its active position.

2. In a mechanism of the class described, a normally inactive turning arm pivoted intermediate, its ends, a weight on one of said ends, a pivoted latch bar having a groove receiving a portion of the arm to retain the. same in inactive position, a slidable member normally holding said latch bar to retain said armin inactive position, means for moving said slidable member to release said latch bar and means carried by said slidable member for positively rocking said latch bar when released to move the arm toward an active position, theweight completing the movement of the arm from its inactive to its active position. 3. In a mechanism of the class described,

a normally inactive pivoted turning arm,.

means for supporting the same above the music rest of a piano, a slidable member for holding the same in substantially vertical position, a reciprocable rod attachable to the back side of a piano, and connected with 'said'slidable member and actuatable to move GEORGE B. SEMLEY. 

